Optimism abounds

In the face of political uncertainty and belief that the recession will continue until 2011, 66 per cent of entrepreneurs still expect their business to grow this year and 32 per cent plan to hire new staff.

According to new research conducted by Shell LiveWIRE, one of the UK’s longest running youth enterprise schemes, 28 per cent of business owners say the recession has inspired them to refocus their business vision, while 25 per cent believe it has challenged them to identify new areas of growth.

The 700 entrepreneurs who took part in the survey were asked to identify their hopes for the next government. One in five were optimistic that government could help put small business at the heart of its economic agenda this year.

However, many said they faced difficult challenges when starting their business. The most commonly cited reasons stated were:

• Difficulty in obtaining government grants or securing bank loans.

• General lack of centralised business support providing guidance and advice.

• Poor entrepreneurial culture in educational institutions.

In addition, when small business owners were asked for their opinion on how government could help support them further this year, the most popular responses were:

• Increased tax breaks for small businesses where cash flow is often a problem.

• Increased availability of funding for start-ups to help get business ideas off the ground.

• Training and education to help people understand what is required to start their own company.

• Better business support in the form of mentoring and advice from other business owners.